November 23 - November 30, 2022 (8D7N): While I’ve visited France many times, I have not had the pleasure of venturing out of Paris. If this is your first time visiting Paris, please refer to my Paris itinerary from 2012. During this trip, we refreshed ourselves with a walking tour and some exciting (and time-consuming) shopping experiences in Paris before embarking on a train ride to Nice. Once we arrived in Nice, we picked up a rental car and traveled east to Monaco before touring Southern France and visiting the Rhone Valley. We then returned the rental in Lyon before hopping on the SNCF back to Paris.

*Highly recommended food & hotel

Day 1 (Nice):

• Evening arrival at Nice Ville Railway Station from Paris Lyon Railway Station (a 6-hr train ride turned into 7.5hrs due to delays)

• Check-in @ Best Westen Lakmi Nice*

• Shop @ Chanel Nice (tons of options here without the need to wait in line)

• Walk along the boardwalk of Plage de Carras down to Casino Du Palais De La Mediterranee

• Muy Mucho (cute store)

• Dinner @ Maido* (delicious French/Japanese meal)

• Drinks @ Le Comptoir Central Electrique*

Day 2 (Nice):

• Breakfast @ hotel (decent breakfast selections with freshly squeezed OJ)

• 11 AM - 1:30 PM: Free Nice Walking Tour Around Nice Old Town and Castle Hill:

  • Fountain of the Sun

  • Neuf Lignes Obliques

  • Opera de Nice Cote d’Azur

  • Maison Auer (one of the oldest chocolate shops in Nice)

  • Marche aux Fleurs

  • Cours Saleya

  • Chapelle de la Misericorde

  • Place du Palais de Justice

  • Cathedrale Sainte-Reparate

  • Nice Beach

  • Colline du Château:

    • Tourre de Bellanda

    • Colline du Château Viewpoint of Port

• Port de Nice:

  • Enjoy some free sparkling/flat water at the refilling station

  • Drinks & late lunch @ Foam (nice view of the port)

  • Take the tram back to Nice downtown

• Shop @ Nicetoile, Ferret, Galeries Lafayette & Fnac

• Dinner @ Acciardo

Day 3 (Monaco/Eze/Aix-en-Provence):

• Breakfast @ hotel

• Hertz rental car @ Nice Ville Railway Station

• See Monaco itinerary

• Walk around Eze Village (a beautiful village with lots of surprises)

• Check-in @ Maison-M-AIX*

• Dinner @ La Petite Ferme* (delicious steak)

Day 4 (Marseille/Cassis/Aix-en-Provence):

• Breakfast @ hotel

• 11AM - 1PM: Marseille Free Walking Tour - Le Panier (park @ Parking Effia Cassis Mimosas):

  • Old Port of Marseille

  • Musee d’Histoire de Marseille

  • Rue de la Republique

  • Hotel de Cabre

  • Terrasse de I’InterContinental Marseille Hotel-Dieu

  • Hotel de Ville

  • Maison Diamantee

  • Le Panier

  • 72% petanque

  • Rues des Pistoles

  • Cathedrale Sainte-Marie-Majeure

  • Port of Marseille

  • Esplanade de la Tourette

  • Eglise Saint-Laurent

• Fort Saint-Jean

• Passerelle Fort Saint-Jean

• MUCEM:

  • Wine @ the rooftop garden

  • Museum (free admission; suggested duration: 0.5-1 hr)

• La Vieille Charite

• Basilica of Notre-Dame of la Garde

• Cassis:

  • Coffee & catch the sunset @ Le France

• Aix-en-Provence:

  • Dinner @ Niro* (reservations needed)

Day 5 (L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue/Avignon/Arles):

• Breakfast @ hotel

• L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (park @ aire de jeux du portalet - free)

  • Marche d’Isle-sur-Sorgue

  • La Maison Rouge* (with live jazz at the market)

• Avignon:

  • Check-in @ Hotel de L’Horloge

  • 2-4 PM: Free Walking Tour Avignon: Classics and surprises:

    • Place de I’Horloge

    • Jardin des Doms

    • Pont d’Avigon

    • Port Du Rhone

    • Cathedrale Notre-Dame des Doms

    • Place du Palais des Papes

    • Eglise Saint-Pierre

• Arles:

  • Amphitheater

  • Dinner @ Inari* (a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant; reservations needed)

Day 6 (Pont du Gard/Vienne/Lyon):

• Breakfast @ hotel

• Pont du Gard (suggested duration: 1.5-2 hrs; 8 AM- midnight; 9€ parking)

• Vienne:

  • Lunch @ La Loge*

  • Temple d’Auguste et de Livie

  • Theatre Antique de Vienne

  • Jardin de Cybele

• Lyon:

  • Check-in @ Hotel Silky by HappyCulture*

  • Return car rental @ Lyon Part Dieu

  • Pont Lafayette

  • Dinner @ Le comptoir Chabert (a unique dining experience)

Day 7 (Lyon/Paris):

• Coffee/tea @ hotel

• 10 AM-noon: Highlights and Hidden Gems of Lyon:

  • Place des Terreaux

  • Hotel de ville

  • Passage Thiaffait

  • Montee de la Grande-Cote

  • Amphitheatre des Trois Gaules

  • Place Sathonay

  • Fresque des Lyonnais (a must!)

  • Vieux Lyon

  • Rue Juiverie

  • Traboule: Vive la colour

  • The Charvet Clock

• Lunch @ Chez Grand-Mere

• SNCF @ Lyon Part-Dieu Railway Station (~ 2 hrs to Paris)

• Check-in @ Hotel Hor

• Dinner @ Bombay Palace & Le Bistrot Lorrain

Day 8

• Morning flight to JFK (priority pass lounge - Air France Lounge)

Other points of interest & food

• Nice:

  • Mont Boron

  • Cimiez Monastery

  • Lunch @ Chez Thérésa

  • Dinner @ La Route du Miam (reservations needed)

  • Dine @ La maison de Marie, La Merenda, Chez Acchiardo, Chez Palmyre

  • Ice cream @ Fenocchio

• Hiking @ Tête de Chien

• Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

• Cap Ferrat

• Visit St. Paul de Vence & have lunch @ La Colombe d'Or Hotel and Restaurant

• During the summer, visit Cannes, Antibes, and Saint-Tropez.

• Moustiers-Sainte-Marie (one of the most beautiful villages in France)

• Marseille: Cosquer Méditerranée

• Visit other regions such as Nîmes, Les Baux-de-Provence

• Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole (Psychiatric asylum where Vincent van Gogh painted as a self-admitted patient from 1889 to 1890)

• Avignon:

  • Place Carnot

  • Passage de la Pyramide

  • Dine @ La Petite Pêche

• Lyon:

  • Jardin des Curiosités

  • Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon

  • Dine @ Restaurant le Splendid Lyon, La Table 101, La Mère Jean, Bouchon Tupin, Restaurant Gastronomique Christian Tetedoie, Food Traboule, Jérémy Galvan

Tips:

• Purchase your train tickets via SNCF as early as possible for the greatest savings. You can also download the app to track your tickets easily.

• A rental car makes it easy to visit various towns/cities in Southern France.

• If you are looking to purchase some Chanel bags during your time in France, skip the boutiques in Paris and make appointments at Nice and Monaco instead.

• Dinner reservations are a must, even in November. If you can’t secure reservations beforehand, showing up before 6:30 PM or after 9 PM would give you the best chance.

• Lyon is the foodie’s heaven!! Enjoy some Michelin restaurants while visiting.